The U.S. Post Office allows use of machine readable Information Based Indicia (IBI) barcodes on envelopes or labels attached to envelopes, instead of traditional stamps, in which such barcodes provide information relating to the postal meter that expensed postal funds. Such IBI barcode encodes up to 112 bytes of information, including a digital signature traceable to the postal meter that printed the code, so as to avoid fraudulent use of postage. The IBI barcode however utilizes a large amount of ink, especially when processing large amounts of mail.
To reduce the amount of ink, a much smaller IBI Lite barcode may be used, which encodes 14 bytes, but lacks a digital signature. The benefit of reduced ink usage sacrifices the presence of an encoded digital signature, thereby making traceability for evidencing and accounting of postage used by meters utilizing IBI Lite barcode difficult.
Moreover, because less information is provided using an IBI Lite barcode than full IBI barcodes, the post office requires controlled acceptance by post office personnel of envelopes or items having IBI Lite barcodes, and thus unlike full IBI barcodes, envelopes having IBI Lite barcodes cannot be placed in a traditional USPS letter collection boxes. Controlled acceptance of envelopes having IBI Lite barcode is also required because such envelopes usually lack Facing Identification Mark (FIM) orientation lines, along their edge.
Thus, it is desirable to print postal indicia on envelopes with IBI Lite barcodes with enhanced security, which enables evidencing and accounting of postage in accordance with such IBI Lite barcodes, and thereby provide both the benefit of reduced ink usage plus fraud detection capability.